I sometimes think I’m too soft to be a successful gardener. Just about every gardening book you read will at some point tell you to ‘thin out’ your seedlings, either to prevent overcrowding or to help ensure only the strong survive.

I find this really hard to do, in fact the smaller and weedier a seedling is, the more I try to ‘save’ it and help it grow into a good plant. Not good commercial sense and not good gardening sense either, but there we are, that’s just how I am.

Speaking of seedlings, I think the red onions I sowed on the 17th are beginning to germinate. Not bad for out of date seeds. I haven’t uncovered them for a proper look, but from peering through the plastic lid I can see some tiny shoots. I think in the next 3 or 4 days I should be able to introduce them to proper daylight and fresh air.

Other good news is that the rhubarb is beginning to show it’s head through the huge pile of manure that has been keeping it warm all winter. Lovely fresh, pink shoots. I’m hopeful of a much better crop this year.

As regards the strimmer situation. The battery should now be fully charged, having been plugged in for 15 hours yesterday. Sadly there’s no way of telling as it doesn’t have any kind of gauge on it to indicate one way or the other. So the only thing to do now is try and ‘strim’ something.

Never in my gardening life did I ever expect to be uttering the words ” If only I could find some long grass to cut.” Consequently the strimmer trial was short and sweet, but on the face of it, it appears to work perfectly well.

Interesting news yesterday. The pub at the far end of the garden has closed. Looks like the credit crunch has reached rural Lincolshire. We feel very sorry for the couple who ran it, who have a young family. Will the brewery be able to re-let it, we shall have to wait and see.